Healing important relationships is a big concern for many women living on the street. Each holiday or significant occasion that goes by brings up feelings and memories. We try to have a variety of supplies for making cards available at these times as well as some “getting started” phrases. We always make cards and small gifts before holidays so women have a chance to create something special for their children in foster care or for family members or important people in their lives. Some women also use this as a chance to thank workers in the Downtown Eastside for supporting them through difficult times or “ just being there” with a smile or hug.
We have made every kind of card: simple cards, rubber stamp embossed cards, collage cards, stenciled cards, embroidered cards, calligraphy cards. Some women really appreciate having a fast and easy format to follow. Other women love having lots of ingredients around for being creative. It is important that your activity allow everyone to make something beautiful and special within 10 minutes. Often, this success encourages women to try other methods and stay longer.
We didn’t create a set of handouts for this because making cards is quite straightforward. The more supplies you have, the more women enjoy this process. So visit your local craft or dollar store. It also helps to have a few cards already made up to stoke everyone’s imagination. We have also brainstormed a list of sentiments to put inside the cards. Sometimes people get really stuck on what to say and others are so good at this part.
When we were preparing this curriculum, our group talked a lot about self-esteem and violent personal relationships. Not everyone felt they were in an abusive relationship but everyone had a past relationship that fit the bill. The group talked about how they often felt at the bottom of everybody’s priority list, but they knew they didn’t deserve to be at the bottom.
“One day I realized that I was punishing myself for something I didn’t do.”
Our curriculum committee felt it was vital to include something in the book that helped women to figure out who was in charge of her life. They wrote a play for women to read or act out, which we have included in this chapter. They also produced an unfinished comic strip called the “Boyfriend Blues” to start discussion amongst women. These are painful issues and you would want to use these activities carefully and with full permission of your group.